Forget the Lobster: Alex Katz is the Reason I Go to Maine.

Like half of New England, in the summer I book some time in Maine. This summer while there I made a detour to the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland. The Museum is known for the large number of Wyeth‘s — all three generations — that it has on display. In a separate building that was once a church, one can worship at the feet of N. C. Wyeth, which, I expect, is exactly as he would have liked it. But I went to the Farnsworth to see the Alex Katz exhibition.

I love the quintessential nature of his work. How, in a few spare lines, he can convey the essence of something.

Alex Katz, “West Palm Beach”

His observations of nature are spot on. In a few strokes he conveys the color, shape, light and atmosphere of the moment.

Alex Katz, “Autumn”, 1999

I love the scale of his work — often large enough to allow you to feel enveloped by it.

Alex Katz at Colby College, Maine

I love the way he handles paint. The museum ran a video of him painting a large winter scene with a portrait of his wife, Ada, in the center. He applies the paint with large brushes in such a way that you can feel it going on. In the film his table is covered with hundreds of brushes. Some of the brushes he says he uses once and then never uses again. It is the connection of vision with the feel of the materials that I admire.

He is a truth teller. In this show there are several paintings of lilies. One of the things I found so striking in observing lilies over time is how frequently the water around them seemed absolutely black.

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I love “traveling” to museums and exhibitions with Leslie through these blogs. As a huge fan and collector of her art, I have come to know her love of light and her encyclopedic knowledge of art history. These two elements are almost always at play in her work–so this particular blog especially interested me with its observations about Alex Katz and his painting “Hommage to Monet.” I have several of Leslie’s lily paintings from her time as a recipient of the Lila Wallace Grant at Monet’s home in Giverny. They fill my life with light and joy. I recently purchased one of her newest prints–unique, experimental, but as always, full of color and light. She is always pushing the bounds of these two elements, no matter what her subject. She is my teacher and inspiration. It’s a privilege to get “to see” through her eyes in this blog.